


Klaine Advent 2017

by bowtiesandboatshoes



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M, daddy!klaine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-09 19:54:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 13,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12895539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowtiesandboatshoes/pseuds/bowtiesandboatshoes
Summary: A collection of prompt fills for the Klaine Advent Challenge 2017. Some are related to each other, others follow from previous verses or just good old generic Klaine.These started out as very G rated fluff and took a sharp turn at I/J/K, so I've changed the rating to unrated and will warn for specific chapters that deserve an M or E rating.





	1. Attachment

“Dada!!!!” Ella wailed, as Kurt held her and tried to get her to calm down.

“Dada isn’t home, Sweetpea. But Papa is right here. Shhh… it’s ok,” he said, bouncing her in his arms to try to settle her. Not for the first time that night, he wished Blaine was home. 

Blaine had been the one to stay home with Ella when she was born, but now the production Kurt had been in had ended and Blaine had landed a new role, so it was Kurt’s turn at home with their daughter. Blaine had always been there to put Ella to bed, until now. It hadn’t occurred to either of them that she would have any problem with Kurt taking over the routine. Ella adored both of her dads, and Kurt had put her down for many a nap by himself with no problem. But this first bedtime without Blaine there was not going well. At this rate, she would still be awake when Blaine got home from his show at midnight. Kurt didn’t think his nerves could take it that long.

Ella refused to settle in her crib or in Kurt’s arms and his head was starting to ache from her crying. He’d tried rocking, bouncing, lullabies, nothing was working. “Ok, baby girl,” he said, walking towards his and Blaine’s bedroom. “You need to rest. Let’s see if some snuggles in Papa’s bed will help.” Kurt shoved Blaine’s pillow out of the way and rested his head on his own, laying Ella down in the space where Blaine’s had been. But she wasn’t interested in lying down and rolled over to push herself up to sitting. That was when she caught sight of Blaine’s old tattered Dalton tee, which had been tucked under his pillow before Kurt moved it. She grabbed at the shirt and called out again. “Dada!” 

“Oh sweet girl, what are we going to do?” Kurt said. “Daddy will be home later, sweetie. He’ll be back...” 

Just as Kurt was getting ready to scoop Ella up again to try to soothe her, he noticed her sobs were starting to ebb. She was clutching Blaine’s shirt like she would a blanket, and slowly she started to calm down. Kurt gently helped her lie back down on the bed and sure enough, within minutes she was asleep. 

“Oh thank god…” Kurt thought. He was terrified of waking her if he disturbed her, but knew Blaine would want to crawl into bed when he got home, so ever so carefully he lifted her up and carried her to her own room, where thankfully she remained asleep in her crib. 

The next night was shaping up to be a repeat of the first. Ella was fine through her bath and story, but as soon as Kurt started to lower her into her crib, the tears began. “Dada!!” 

“Not again…” He raised her up again and cuddled her close. She wasn’t as frantic as she had been the night before, but she was clearly missing her daddy once more. Suddenly Kurt remembered the tee shirt, and walked Ella to their room to grab it, thankful for once for Blaine’s habit of not tossing things into the laundry hamper right away. 

Ella reached her arms out for it immediately, grabbing it from Kurt’s hand and nuzzling it close. “Dada,” she repeated more quietly this time. 

“You like that, huh?” he said. He could certainly relate. On nights where he had to go to sleep without Blaine it was sometimes nice to be able to snuggle up to his pillow and breathe in the his lingering scent. He brought Ella back to her room and tried again to put her in her crib. This time she went willingly, still clutching Blaine’s tee shirt. “Good night, baby girl,” Kurt said. “Sweet dreams…”

Blaine was a bit confused when he got home later that night to find Ella sleeping snuggled up with his own shirt. He leaned down and kissed her head, then went to his and Kurt’s room to get ready for bed. When he climbed into bed beside Kurt he asked gently, “Hey, are you awake?”

Kurt had been half asleep but stirred at Blaine’s voice. “Mmmm, you’re home…” he mumbled.

“I am.” He propped himself on an elbow and stroked Kurt’s cheek as he looked down at him. He would never tire of being able to go to bed next to this beautiful man. “Hey, Kurt, why does Ella have my Dalton shirt?” he asked once Kurt looked more awake than asleep. 

“I think it’s her Dalton shirt now, sweetie. We can get you a new one. She seems to have quite an attachment to you at bedtime. She cried for hours last night and when she saw it she grabbed it and calmed right down. She was fussy at bedtime again tonight so I figured I’d give it a try again and it worked like a charm. You might have to wear it now and then so it smells like you, but that shirt is no longer yours.”

“But that shirt…” Blaine started with a pout. It was his favorite. He’d had it forever. 

“Is a SHIRT, Blaine. And it helps our daughter sleep when you aren’t here. Unless you’d like to come home in the middle of Act 1 to put her to bed, the shirt is hers as long as she wants it.”

“Ok,” Blaine said. “I’m sorry you’ve been having a rough time…”

“It’s ok. She’ll get used to it. And we figured out a solution. Now come here and let me hold you and let’s get some sleep. She’ll be up again before we know it…”


	2. Bucket

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this second fill happens to follow, though not immediately, the first one. No promises on whether this will continue as a vaguely linear story in the same verse or jump around to other ideas. We'll see what the rest of the prompts inspire. I wouldn't be surprised if at least some of them come back to this daddy!Klaine theme.
> 
> Thanks for reading!

“Remind me again why this was a good idea,” Kurt implored as he scanned the crowded beach for a place they could put down their own blanket.

“Because, Kurt, it’s a beautiful day. It wouldn’t be right to spend it cooped up in the apartment or in some air conditioned museum somewhere,” Blaine replied.

Kurt glared at him skeptically.

“Besides, ever since they had beach day at daycare, Ella’s been begging to come. How can we say no to that face?”

Kurt looked down at their daughter, waiting impatiently between them while they figured out where to set up. She tugged on Blaine’s hand and tried to pull him forward. “Daddy, come on! Let’s go! I want to go in the water and build a sandcastle and-”

“Whoa there, little lady,” Blaine replied. “We can do all of those things, but first we need to find a place to set up camp, ok? Can you help me and Papa find a clear spot?”

They made their way towards the shore and eventually found an opening not too far from the water. Blaine set about spreading out their blanket and setting up an umbrella while Kurt helped Ella out of her cover-up and added an extra layer of sunscreen to her fair skin.  

“Ok,” Blaine said as he dropped a sun hat over Ella’s wavy brown hair, “What’s first?”

“Water!!” Ella yelled, making a dash for the waves without even waiting for her fathers’ approval.

Blaine jogged after her, leaving Kurt to finish refreshing his own sunscreen and catch up with them at the shoreline. When he got there, Blaine had caught Ella under the arms and was swinging her into the shallow waves as she kicked and squealed with delight. Seeing them Kurt was forced to admit to himself that the beach hadn’t been such a terrible idea. He could put up with the touch of sunburn he was likely to leave with to see his two favorite people so full of joy.

Together they splashed in the ocean until a seashell caught Ella’s eye. She picked it up and showed it to her dads. “Look what I found.”

“That’s a pretty one,” Kurt said. “Maybe we can use it to decorate our sandcastle later.”

“Yes!” she agreed. “Let’s find lots of shells for the castle!” And she started looking around for more shells, squatting down as the waves washed up over her feet and picking up the shells and small stones that caught her eye. When she had a fistful, she brought them to Blaine. “Here. Hold these!”

Blaine took the treasures but knew now that his daughter was on a mission he wouldn’t be able to hold all she wanted to collect. “How about we go get your bucket?” he suggested. “And then we can take a walk and find all the prettiest shells and stones for our castle.”

“Yeah!” she exclaimed and raced off towards their blanket, Kurt and Blaine following behind to help her extricate the little purple pail from the bag of sand toys they’d brought along.

Their “walk” didn’t take them very far, as Ella kept bending down to examine the rocks and shells along the shore. “What about this one, Daddy?” she said, holding a small white clam shell out to Blaine.

“That’s pretty, Sweetpea. Let’s put it in the bucket. Can you find some more like that?”

Kurt and Blaine picked up a few of the shells and stones that caught their eyes, but mostly they just enjoyed watching their little girl carefully choosing her own favorites to add to their collection. When the bucket was full, they headed back to their blanket where Kurt took cover in the shade of the umbrella and beckoned Ella to join him for a quick rest out of the sun.

“Let’s have a snack and some water before we build that castle, ok?”

Ella wasn’t eager to sit down when there was more playing to do, but she relented when Kurt pulled a familiar blue container out of their cooler. “Come on, come have some fruit and then I brought some of Grandma Carole’s cookies…”

“Cookies!” Shells forgotten, she ran to Kurt, who caught her into a hug and set her down on his lap.

“Fruit first, then cookies,” he said.

“Ok,” she said, accepting a small container of grapes.

Blaine reached out for the container of cookies while eyeing Kurt teasingly, and Kurt smacked his hand away. “That goes for you too, mister! Fruit first, then cookies!” he laughed.

“Fine,” he said with mock exasperation as he grabbed a container of strawberries and skewered one on a toothpick. He popped it in his mouth and winked at Kurt over Ella’s head.

“The two of you are incorrigible,” Kurt said.

“But Grandma Carole’s cookies, Kurt. Can you really blame us?” He looked at Kurt with wide, innocent eyes, then down at Ella with a conspiratorial wink. She tilted her head to look up at Kurt too. 

“Cuteness will get you nowhere, no matter how delicious Carole’s cookies are.” There was no denying Ella was Blaine’s child. Nurture was for sure winning out over nature on that count. But their charms couldn’t always overcome Kurt’s stubbornness, and he held firm on his rule of healthy food before treats.

When they’d finished their snacks and run back down to the water so Ella could rinse the sticky strawberry juice from her fingers, Ella dumped out the rest of the sand toys and set their bucket of shells down next to them. “Daddy, Papa, come help!” she said as she grabbed a shovel and started filling a mold with sand.

Kurt and Blaine both got to work filling pails and molds to create the castle’s towers. Blaine grabbed a shovel to carve a moat around it, and together they spun a tale about the princess who lived there and defended the castle from enemies with her trusty pet dragon. When the castle was built, Ella carefully placed their shells and stones around it. “There, done!” she said as she laid the last one on top of the highest turret. “Papa, take a picture!”

Kurt fished his phone out of their bag and snapped a few photos as Ella posed beside the castle. “Can I get in on this?” Blaine asked, kneeling down beside her and leaning in close.

Ella turned and kissed him on the cheek, wrapping her little arms around his neck. Kurt snapped a picture he knew would end up on display in their home. “Me too,” he said ducking down to join them for a family selfie.

Later that day when they’d rinsed off all the sand and gone home to tuck Ella into bed for her nap, Kurt and Blaine snuggled together on the couch in their living room. “I guess that wasn’t so bad after all,” Kurt admitted, flipping through the photos he’d taken and reviewing the morning in his mind.

“See? Sometimes Ella and I have good ideas,” Blaine said, giving Kurt a squeeze.

“Yeah, sometimes you do,”  Kurt agreed. “And I’ve been thinking… There’s one other idea of yours that I might be ready to get on board with.”

Blaine sat himself up from where he’d been leaning against Kurt. “Kurt do you mean… really?” Since starting daycare, Ella had noticed that a lot of her classmates had younger siblings and had been asking for a baby brother or sister. Blaine had broached the subject long before Ella ever brought it up. He’d been ready for ages, but Kurt wasn’t quite there yet, so they’d tabled the discussion and focused on the child they did have. But now…

“Yeah. I think it’s time. Ella’s getting so big, and I don’t want them to be too far apart,” he said, looking lovingly at Blaine. “If you still want to…”

“If I still?? Yes, Kurt, of course I want to! Another baby with you? Yes. Yes, yes, yes,” he said, grabbing hold of Kurt’s shoulders and peppering him with kisses. “I love you… so much..."

“I love you, too. Now come on,” Kurt said, dodging Blaine’s lips with a laugh, “I know you have tons of information bookmarked on your computer. Show me what you’ve been thinking all this time waiting for me to catch up to you…” And they spent the rest of Ella’s nap looking at adoption and surrogacy sites, starting to figure out how they would begin the next part of their journey together.


	3. Collapse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like we're continuing in the same verse again today. I couldn't resist Ella and Grandpa Burt.

Ella sat at the table with a look of concentration on her little face, reaching out towards the wobbly tower of blocks trying to decide which one she could safely remove without toppling the whole thing. She was playing Jenga against her Grandpa Burt and she really wanted to win this time. Burt said if she did, she could pick the movie they watched that night while her dads went out. If he won, he got to pick. She wasn’t at all sure if she could trust his taste in movies. Carefully, she tapped at a block in the middle of the stack and it slid out, the tower teetering but staying upright. She gently placed the block on top of the tower.

“Your turn, Grandpa!”

“I think maybe you got me this time, kiddo. That tower looks like it would fall if I breathed on it funny,” Burt said.

He made a show of reaching out towards various blocks, then finally settled on one near the bottom of the tower. As soon as he shifted it out of place, the whole thing collapsed onto the table with a tremendous clatter. 

“Yay! I win!” Ella shouted, jumping up happily from her chair. Then she remembered what her dads taught her about being a good sport and walked around the table to Burt. “Good game, Grandpa. Thanks for playing with me,” she said, giving him a hug. Burt smiled and hugged her back. He would lose to this little cutie any day.

“You beat me fair and square,” he said. “So, what’ll it be for the movie tonight?”

“Can we watch _Star Wars_?”

“ _Star Wars_ … I…” Burt had been expecting her to ask for the latest Disney movie or maybe a musical like the ones she watched with Kurt and Blaine, but _Star Wars_? “Well, I’ll have to check with your dads to make sure that’s ok.” Burt wasn’t sure if she was too young for that sort of thing.

“Grandpa, Daddy and I watch it all the time! He’ll let me.”

 Burt looked at her a bit skeptically, but then remembered how excited his son-in-law had been when she was born to pass along a love for all of his various obsessions. Which unlike Kurt’s definitely included all things science fiction.

“You sure you’re not too young?” Burt asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

“I’m SIX,” she said proudly with her hands on her hips.

Burt chuckled. “Ok, little lady, _Star Wars_ it is then. I’ll go make us some popcorn.”

 


	4. Drink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And today we're leaving daddy!Klaine. This one is part of the Not Just the Alcohol verse, and will probably make more sense if you've read it. (If you haven't, I hope you'll check it out, but for now suffice it to say it's a twist on S2/BIOTA and starts off with Blaine dating Rachel.)

_“...say what’s in this drink?”_

Kurt turned off the mixer to the sound of the familiar refrain wafting through the kitchen. He was suddenly hit with the memory of the year before. He couldn’t help but marvel at the impossibility of how things had turned out for him and a contented smile crossed his face as he caught Blaine’s eye.

“What are you thinking?” Blaine asked, pulling a cookie sheet from the cabinet and setting it on the counter.

“This song,” Kurt gestured vaguely in the air. “Do you remember singing it?”

“You helped me rehearse,” Blaine said.

“And I had an unrequited crush on a straight boy that I was trying desperately not to let show,” Kurt said back. “Do you have any idea how irresistible you are with those eyes of yours and the flirty winks?”

“What, these eyes?” Blaine said innocently, beaming at Kurt with exactly the sparkle he couldn’t resist.

Kurt smacked him playfully, but Blaine leaned close, flirtatious as ever, and started to sing to him once more. With a glance he implored Kurt to join him and this time when the song ended, he pulled Kurt in for a tender kiss. “Better?” he asked as they separated.

Kurt laughed. “Much. But I wouldn’t trade it you know. As weird as it was crushing on my best friend’s boyfriend, I’m glad we got to be friends first.” He grabbed a pan and started scooping out the cookie dough.

“Me too. God I was terrified. But I think knowing already how amazing you were, it made it easier for me, you know? Because as scary as it was I knew there was this potentially wonderful thing waiting for me if I could just be brave enough to embrace it. Well, and if you felt the same way,” he admitted with a little self-deprecating shrug.

“You really didn’t know? That I liked you?”

“I really didn’t.”

“Well, I guess that speaks well of my acting ability then. Maybe I’ll add it to my resume,” Kurt joked.

“Or it just speaks to my cluelessness. But yeah, let’s go with the first one. Your way sounds better.”

Kurt shook his head at his boyfriend. He was hopeless, but adorable. “Of course it does. My way always sounds better,” Kurt said cockily, but with no bite behind it. “Now come on, you’re the one who’s supposed to be baking ME cookies, and I’m doing all the work.” He swatted at Blaine with a spoon, but Blaine dodged out of the way before it could land.

“Yes, dear,” he said sweetly, grabbing the first full sheet of cookies to slide into the oven.

Together they finished the baking and clean up, and then tucked themselves onto the couch in front of the fire to enjoy a lazy winter afternoon of movies, cocoa, and freshly baked Christmas cookies.


	5. Example

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to daddy!Klaine today. This picks up pretty much right after Chapter 2 (Bucket) left off.

“So we’re really doing this?” Blaine asked, his voice full of hopeful wonder as he curled up against Kurt’s chest in bed. Kurt had long since given up on trying to convince him that there were some nights it was too hot for cuddling. He just made sure to kick the air conditioning up a notch in their bedroom before turning in. Right now he had to admit he appreciated holding Blaine close. He reached up and nuzzled the hair at the nape of Blaine’s neck with his fingers.

“Yeah,” he said quietly, “we are.”

Blaine tilted his head up to smile at him before snuggling back in contentedly.

“I’m gonna need you to help me with the sibling stuff though. I didn’t have Finn until high school. I don’t really know what it’s like to grow up with another kid.”

“I’m not sure Cooper and I are the best example there,” Blaine said. “We didn’t exactly grow up together either. He was an annoying teenager by the time I have any actual memories of him. You know we didn’t really get along until we were grown.”

“True,” Kurt said. “Well, maybe that can be an example of what not to do then.”

“Like wait ten years to have another kid?” Blaine said with a yawn.

“Exactly. I want Ella to have what we didn’t. I don’t know what it would have been like to have a brother all along, but having Finn…” Kurt trailed off. He knew Blaine understood.

“Mmm…” Blaine murmured against his chest. Kurt could feel his weight growing heavier against him as he started to drift off. He knew Blaine’s steady breathing would soon soothe him into his own slumber.

“Good night, Blaine,” he whispered, and they both fell asleep to visions of their soon-to-be family of four.


	6. Fraction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going back in time with daddy!Klaine for this one.

“There,” Kurt said as he tied off the bow on the last of the packages, passing it to Blaine to put under the tree. “Done! Finally…”

Blaine placed the gift with the others beneath the Christmas tree and stepped back towards Kurt to admire their handiwork. Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine from behind and they took in the sight of the shimmering tree and the huge pile of presents underneath.

“Um, Kurt? It’s beautiful, but do you think maybe we went a little bit overboard on the gifts?” They’d been shopping little by little, but seeing everything in one place made it clear just how much they’d actually bought.

“What? It’s Ella’s first Christmas! She deserves be a little bit spoiled. Besides, half those gifts are from the grandparents. Are we gonna tell them they can’t give their first granddaughter presents?”

“Of course not. But she’s only six months old. She won’t even know she’s getting gifts, and lord knows she only really needs a fraction of this stuff.”

“So what exactly are you suggesting? Because I am not braving the stores again before Christmas to return anything. It’s chaos out there. I guess we could save some things for her birthday…” Kurt continued thinking out loud until Blaine cut him off.

“I actually was thinking that we could donate some of them. To kids whose families aren’t able to spoil them like this. There’s a Toys for Tots box down at the cafe on the corner. Or we could find a shelter and bring them there.” Blaine turned in Kurt’s arms and looked up at him sweetly. “This really is a lot for one little girl, don’t you think?”

Kurt had to admit Blaine was right. In their excitement over Ella’s first Christmas they had perhaps bought a few more things than any one child really needed. “You’re right,” he sighed. “Of course you’re right. And I think that’s a great idea.”

Blaine greeted Kurt’s agreement with a gentle kiss. “I’m glad,” he said. “So which do you think, Toys for Tots, or a shelter?”

“Maybe a shelter?” Kurt replied. “And we could see about doing some caroling, and getting Rachel and Jesse and some of our other theater friends to join us and maybe bring some gifts too? It’s short notice, but…”

“Yeah, we can at least try. It can’t hurt to ask. Come on, let’s sort out which gifts we can give away and then we’ll get online and find somewhere we can bring them. I’ll make the call in the morning and work out all the details.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt gave me a hard time. I'm pleased with the idea that eventually came to me, if not 100% satisfied with the execution (particularly the somewhat abrupt ending). But in the interest of getting it posted today, and not stressing out over something that's supposed to be fun, we're just going with "done is better than perfect" this time!


	7. Genuine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a bit behind! Suffering from lack of inspiration and lack of time. Hope to catch back up this weekend! This one is set in canon, right after Rachel leaves to move to L.A.

Kurt gave Rachel one last hug on the sidewalk, then stood aside as she entered the cab, closing the door after her. He and Blaine waved as the cab drove away, then walked hand in hand back up to the loft.

“I kind of can’t believe she’s really gone,” Kurt said, looking over at what had been Rachel’s bedroom area for most of the past two years. She’d left and come back a couple of times, after fights or for the out of town tryout for _Funny Girl_ , but Kurt had always known that she’d return. Now she was moving to L.A. to film a tv show. He’d always pictured them conquering Broadway together. But now she was off in pursuit of a new dream, and there was no telling if or when she might be back.

“I know it’s hard,” said Blaine, “You two built your lives here together. And even back in Ohio you saw each other every day for years. But she loves you. A little distance isn’t going to change that.”

“I know. It’s just weird to think of not seeing her every day. As much as she drives me crazy, she’s family,” Kurt said, looking wistfully at Blaine.

And Blaine understood. It wasn’t just that Rachel was leaving. It was that she was taking with her a connection to Finn, and to home, one that for all his love was something even Blaine couldn’t replace. He stepped up behind Kurt and wrapped his arms around him, pressing a soft kiss to the back of his neck.

“Kurt....” Blaine said, and held him tight. He decided that distraction was better than dwelling. “Come here,” he said, pulling Kurt over to the couch and giving him a gentle push down onto it. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and handed it over. “Here. Find something to watch. I’ll go make us some tea.”

He put the kettle on the burner and got their mugs ready while Kurt scrolled through their options.Then he went to the refrigerator and pulled out a small box he’d brought home the night before. He carefully removed the contents and placed them on a plate, grabbed a fork from the drawer, and walked back over to Kurt, where he presented the plate with a flourish.

“Here. This might make you feel better,” he said.

Kurt eyed the plate suspiciously then looked up at Blaine. “That’s not leftover vegan cheesecake from Rachel’s going away party, is it? Because while I’ve managed to get used to it over all these years of living with her, vegan cheesecake is not going to cut it as comfort food.”

Blaine chuckled. “Nope, this is 100% genuine cheesecake, made with actual dairy products and guaranteed completely tofu-free. I had a feeling you might need cheering up today, so I picked it up when I went to get Rachel’s cheesecake from the bakery last night.”

“You… Blaine... “ Kurt smiled up at him gratefully. “Thank you.”

“It’s my job to take care of you,” Blaine said over his shoulder as he returned to the kitchen at the sound of the tea kettle whistling.

He filled their mugs and returned to the couch where he tucked himself next to Kurt while he drowned his sorrows in cheesecake and Project Runway. If he still needed cheering up after that, well, Blaine would be more than happy to remind him of some of the benefits of not having roommates, like not having to worry what sounds might drift past the privacy curtains that divided their living space...


	8. Health

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short today. This could be pretty much any version of Klaine, though in my head it's set in their college years. Enjoy!

“But Kurt, I have to…” Blaine croaked, before bursting into another coughing fit.

“You have to do no such thing, Blaine,” Kurt replied. “That’s why you have an understudy. You’re not in any condition to perform tonight and if you won’t think of your own health then at least consider the rest of the cast and the crew and everyone else in that theater who most definitely does not want your germs. You’re staying home if I have to call your stage manager myself.”

“But I… and diva week I did… and...” he sputtered, trying to make his case that even though he was sick he could certainly still perform.

Kurt just stood with his hands on his hips and gave him a withering glare. He’d gladly comfort Blaine and help nurse him back to health once he admitted he was too sick to go on, but Kurt knew he needed some tough love to admit that to himself. Blaine was a firm believer in “the show must go on.” And sometimes he forgot that it could go on just fine without him. 

Blaine collapsed back onto his pillow in defeat. “Fine. I’ll call in,” he said, grabbing his phone from the nightstand. 

“That’s better. Make your call and I’ll go get you some toast and honey.”

By the time Kurt returned, Blaine had finished his call, but had also fallen fast asleep. Kurt slid the phone from his hand, returned it to its spot on the nightstand, and pulled the blankets up over his husband, placing a tender kiss on his forehead. Then he went to the kitchen to gather the ingredients for Blaine’s favorite chicken soup so it would be ready when he woke up.  


	9. Inch/Judgment/Key

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally cheating here and combining these three. I didn't intend to, but Inch was giving me trouble, I hadn't even considered Judgment yet, and Key just sort of happened. When I inadvertently used the word inch I decided if I could sneak judgment in there too I'd just go for it. So I did! 
> 
> This is also quite a departure, rating-wise, from what I've written for Klaine Advent so far. We're jumping straight from G to E, so if that bothers you, perhaps skip this one. It's pretty much straight up smut. For those of you who have been waiting for that, enjoy! ;)
> 
> And this one goes out to a friend, for reasons. She'll know who she is (I hope!).

 

Kurt slid the key into the lock for the first time. He felt Blaine’s hand gently cover his own and together they turned the knob, opening the door on the next chapter of the rest of their lives.

“Home,” Blaine said contentedly as he took in the empty space. Their space. With no roommates and no ghosts. A blank slate. He knew better now than to idealize it. They’d still make mistakes. In time it would likely have its own ghosts, memories of things they’d rather forget, but for now it held the promise of a fresh start. It was tiny, but it was theirs, and Blaine couldn’t imagine a more perfect backdrop for the work in progress of their lives.

They stepped inside and Kurt shut the door gently behind them. “Home,” he repeated. He left the key on the breakfast bar that divided the kitchen from the rest of the living space, and walked over to open the blinds and let the pale winter sunlight into the room.

“I feel like we should have brought champagne or something, to celebrate,” Blaine said.

Kurt turned and raised an eyebrow. “I can think of a different way to celebrate,” he said.

“There isn’t even any furniture…”

“Like that’s ever stopped us before,” Kurt said, stepping close to Blaine and caressing his jaw. He pulled him in for a deep, lingering kiss.

“Kurt…” Blaine exhaled breathlessly when they parted. He eyed Kurt’s lips hungrily now, that one kiss all it took for him to want more. He always wanted more of Kurt.

He crashed his mouth against Kurt’s again, pressing his tongue into the warmth and pressing his body against Kurt’s. Kurt held him tight as he continued to mouth greedily at his jaw, his ear, his neck…

Blaine needed more of Kurt’s skin. He loosened the buttons at his throat and let his lips and tongue work their way down, reveling in Kurt’s taste. They’d spent the first weeks of their married life living under Burt’s roof in Lima. They’d managed their share of physical intimacy behind closed doors, but it felt good now to be able to follow their instincts and not have to worry at all about privacy, or what judgment might befall them if they weren’t careful enough about keeping quiet. If Blaine wanted to fuck Kurt right here in the living room in the middle of the day, he could.

And oh, he wanted to. Needed to.

He abandoned the buttons on Kurt’s shirt and reached down for his fly. He palmed over Kurt’s erection and fumbled at his belt buckle. “I want you, Kurt... “ he breathed. He dropped to his knees and used both hands to unclasp Kurt’s belt and open his fly. His mouth was on Kurt’s cock before he could even be bothered to push down his briefs. Kurt tipped his head back and moaned at Blaine’s hot breath through the fabric and clutched at the back of his head to keep him close.

Blaine edged his fingers under Kurt’s waistband and tugged downward just enough to free his cock. He licked a broad stroke up the length of it, then lowered his mouth down around it all at once. He was in no mood to take things slowly. He sucked Kurt quick and dirty, taking him as deep as he could, not bothering to try to swallow as his mouth watered, fondling his balls and teasing a finger back towards his ass.

Oh, that ass. Blaine loved Kurt’s ass, so perfect in the skinny jeans that showed it off so well. Even more perfect out of them. He slid his hand from Kurt’s balls to his hip and gave a nudge as he let Kurt’s cock fall from his mouth.

“Turn around,” he demanded.

Kurt turned. “God I love it when you’re bossy,” he said, resting his arms against the breakfast bar and presenting his still covered ass to Blaine.

“Off,” Blaine said, tugging down Kurt’s jeans and briefs at once. “God look at you…”

He nuzzled against Kurt’s ass cheek then planted a kiss there as he reached around to stroke Kurt’s cock. Soon enough both hands were back on Kurt’s ass, spreading his cheeks so Blaine could tease at his rim. He licked gently at first, swirling his tongue in lazy circles, then pressing harder, lapping further down towards Kurt’s balls, sucking them one by one into his hot mouth and making Kurt writhe above him.

Blaine’s own cock strained in his jeans, demanding attention. He forced himself to take his hands from Kurt’s skin and open his fly, still nipping and kissing at Kurt wherever he could reach. He stood up and pushed his pants and briefs down around his ankles. In the meantime Kurt had worked open the rest of his buttons and was shrugging out of his shirt and vest, exposing his smooth skin for Blaine to touch and kiss. He traced over Kurt’s tattoo with his tongue, slotting his cock in the cleft of Kurt’s ass, and reaching back around to stroke Kurt’s cock.

“God I wish we had lube here. I really, really want to fuck you right now,” Blaine said against Kurt’s back as he rocked his hips against him.

“Do it,” Kurt begged, “use your mouth, make me come… it’ll be enough…”

The words were barely out of Kurt’s mouth before Blaine was back on his knees, tongue darting against his rim, lapping and prodding eagerly and slowly working him open. Eventually he pressed a spit-slick thumb inside.

“Oh god, yes,” Kurt called out. He was as desperate for this now as Blaine was, couldn’t wait to feel Blaine’s cock inside him.

Blaine continued stroking Kurt’s rim with his tongue as he pressed in deeper with his thumb. His own cock was leaking in anticipation and he reached down to swipe the precome from its tip. He slid his thumb out and quickly replaced it with his slick finger.

“Are you ok?” he asked Kurt. The noises Kurt was making seemed to indicate that he was just fine, but Blaine wanted to be sure.

“So ok,” Kurt said. “Keep going.”

He continued stretching, adding a finger wet with his own saliva.

Kurt meanwhile had begun stroking his own cock and was getting closer and closer to the edge.

“Blaine I… where do you…?” Kurt stammered out.

Blaine quickly assessed his options in his head. He carefully slid his fingers from Kurt’s hole, stood up, and spun Kurt around. “I want you to come in your hand,” he said, “and then I want you to stroke my cock until it’s covered in your come and ready to fuck you.”

“Oh god,” Kurt moaned, tugging harder at his own cock. “Jesus, Blaine.”

“Come on, baby, you can do it,” Blaine said. “Come for me.” He leaned over and swiped his tongue over one of Kurt’s nipples, then swirled it around the other.

“Blaine!” Kurt cried out as his orgasm hit, pearly white fluid spilling over his hand. Blaine had tucked himself close, not wanting to waste a drop of potential lubricant. Kurt’s release had already partially painted Blaine’s own dick and hand. He stroked himself gently now as Kurt regained his senses.

Kurt rested his forehead against Blaine’s shoulder, still holding his spent cock in his hand, his breathing still heavy. “Ok, your turn now,” he said, lining his cock up with Blaine’s and switching his grip to cover Blaine in his slippery come.

“Yeah,” Blaine sighed out, “that feels good, god you feel good,” he said as Kurt dragged his fist over his cock. But Kurt let go all too quickly and turned back around to lean over the breakfast bar once more.

“Come on,” he said, “before it gets too sticky.”

Blaine didn’t need to be told twice. He swiped his thumb into his mouth, tasting the remnants Kurt’s come, wetting it to press back against Kurt’s hole. Then he moved his thumb away and lined his cock up to take its place. “Ready?” he asked, placing his other hand on Kurt’s shoulder.

“Yes.”

Blaine pushed until the tip of his cock was inside Kurt, and slowly rocked his hips to inch his way deeper.

“Tell me if it’s too much…”

“I’m fine, Blaine. You won’t break me. Come on…”

At that Blaine picked up his pace a bit, pressing harder and deeper into Kurt, dragging out and pushing back in a smooth rhythm. He grabbed Kurt’s hips as he fucked in and out, alternately throwing his head back in pleasure and looking down to watch his dick disappear into Kurt. The sight never failed to turn him on even more. Soon he was riding the edge of his own orgasm, pumping hard and fast into Kurt. His grunts and moans were anything but quiet as he exploded, pulling out and streaking Kurt’s ass and back with his release. He collapsed forward over him when he was done. “Oh my god, Kurt. That was amazing. You are amazing,” he panted between breaths.

“Well, I think we can consider this room properly christened,” he said, nudging up so Blaine was forced to support his own weight again. He turned and looped his arms over Blaine’s shoulders and gave him a sweet kiss that belied the heated moments that had just passed. “I love you.”

“I love you too…”

“Now, do we have anything in here that we can clean up with? Because, as much as I enjoyed that, I really would rather not go back out into the world covered in come.”

Blaine laughed. “Um…” He looked around hoping maybe the previous tenants had left behind a roll of paper towels or some toilet paper. Seeing nothing, he did the only gentlemanly thing he could think of, stripping out of his sweater and shirt and finally his undershirt, which he used to wipe away the mess on his husband’s skin. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.

“My savior,” Kurt said in thanks, and began redressing himself.

Blaine tossed the soiled undershirt aside and did the same.

“Ok,” Kurt said once they were presentable again, “we should have enough time to swing by Elliott’s to pick up our suitcases before the truck gets here with our furniture. If we’re lucky we may even have time to shower before we come back.”

Blaine’s eyes lit up hopefully.

“Alone, Blaine! But I promise, once we’re settled in I will do things to you in that shower that it has never seen.”

“Well come on then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get our things!”


	10. Limited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is from the Not Just the Alcohol 'verse, set in Blaine's senior year at Dalton and Kurt's first year at NYADA.

It was the weekend before Thanksgiving and Kurt and Blaine were in the middle of their weekly Skype session, Kurt sprawled out on his bed in the loft he shared in New York with Rachel, Blaine in his room at his parents’ house in Westerville.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Kurt asked. 

“I’d love to, but I can’t. I need to get these applications done so I’ll actually have time to spend with you in person when you’re home next weekend.”

“What’s left?” Kurt knew Blaine had been working on his applications for weeks already, never one to leave something that important for the last minute. 

“Just CMU and Wesleyan. I think I can adapt a lot from the others. Hopefully it won’t take too long.”

“Neither of those is in New York,” Kurt frowned. 

Blaine rolled his eyes fondly, shaking his head at his boyfriend. “Nope, they’re not. You’ve known almost as long as you’ve known me that I didn’t want to be limited to New York. I’m not saying I won’t come there. I just want to have options.”

“Well yes, but you didn’t have a boyfriend in New York then. I thought maybe that would make you change your mind.”

“And it might, when it comes time to make a choice. But it can’t be the only factor in where I apply, Kurt. I love you, you know that. And I’m applying to NYU and NYADA. I think we’re doing pretty well with the long distance thing so far, don’t you?”

“We are,” Kurt admitted. “But it’s only been three months. Do you think we can do it for three more years?”

“I think we can,” Blaine said with confidence. “I think that we are meant to be together and that no matter what happens next year, we can manage it.”

Kurt was still skeptical about the whole idea of Blaine not being in New York with him the very first moment it was a possibility, but there was no doubt that Blaine believed in them and that warmed Kurt’s heart. “Ok,” he said. “Maybe you won’t even get into all those other schools anyway and you’ll have to come to New York!”

“Hey!” Blaine laughed. He’d have thrown a pillow at Kurt if they’d been in the same room. “Thanks for the vote of confidence!” 

“Just being selfish. And you know as well as I do that you’ll get in, because you’re amazing and any school would be lucky to have you.”

“Aw… Thanks, Kurt. I hope you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. Now, enough about school. It’s almost Black Friday and I am going to be home and we are going to go shopping. We need a game plan. Do you at least have time for that before you have to go?”

“I think I can squeeze it in,” Blaine said. But he knew better than to offer too much input where bargain shopping was concerned. He’d let Kurt plan and be happy just spending the day with him. They might be making the best of long distance so far, but he would always be glad for the times he could have Kurt by his side.


	11. Mist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set in canon, on their honeymoon. Short and sweet...

The bell on the door tinkled behind them as Kurt and Blaine stepped out onto the sidewalk from the cozy Provincetown cafe where they’d had breakfast. Blaine adjusted his scarf and tugged at the collar of his coat for protection against the cool morning mist that hung in the salty air. 

“Not exactly the beach honeymoon I’d envisioned,” he said to Kurt as they walked towards the art gallery down the street. 

“No,” Kurt agreed, grabbing Blaine’s gloved hand as they strolled, “but on the plus side I don’t have to worry about sunburn. And this weather is an excellent excuse to spend the afternoon back at the house in front of the fireplace.”

“Mmm, cuddling with you in front of a warm fire does sound pretty nice right about now,” Blaine said.

“Cuddling wasn’t exactly what I had in mind...” 

“Oh?” Blaine’s tone was all innocence, but his eyes twinkled flirtatiously. 

“It is our honeymoon after all…” Kurt countered, matching Blaine’s playfulness.

“But we can cuddle afterwards, right?”

“For as long as you want…”


	12. Nose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playing catch up. Christmas fluff...

“Daddy, what’s that?” Ella asked, pointing up at the little sprig of greenery dangling from the top of the archway that separated their living and dining rooms.

“That is mistletoe.” Blaine scooped her up and walked over to stand underneath it. “And whenever you get caught under it with someone, you have to give them a kiss,” he said, kissing her little nose in demonstration.

She giggled, but then looked thoughtful. “What if you don’t like the person under there with you?”

“Oh.” Blaine hadn’t really considered the practicalities of the tradition. “Well, then I guess you wouldn’t kiss them. No one should have to kiss anyone they don’t want to. But in this house, we all like each other, right? So it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Ella nodded in agreement. “You and Papa kiss each other all the time anyway. And me. But then, why do we need the mistletoe for kissing?”

There was nothing like a preschooler to make you question the simplicity of simple Christmas traditions.

“Well, it’s always nice to have an excuse for extra kisses, don’t you think?” he said. As if to prove his point he nuzzled against her belly and covered it with a quick succession of noisy smooches, making her laugh.

At that moment, Kurt appeared from the kitchen where he'd been listening to the exchange. “I definitely agree,” he said, kissing Ella on the cheek and Blaine on the mouth and pulling them in for a family hug. “Never too many kisses…” 


	13. Orgy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rated M. AU. Set in a society where couples form committed relationships but sexual attractions and activity are considered normal between friends as well.

Blaine lay on his back in a post-orgasmic haze, one arm flung up over his head and the other blindly reaching out towards Kurt next to him, not quite ready to lose the contact between them. Kurt had propped himself up on one elbow and was watching Blaine as he came down, his breath slowly returning to normal and a sheen of sweat cooling his tanned skin.

“You’re beautiful like this,” Kurt said, stroking a finger down Blaine’s arm with a featherlight touch.

“Mmm...” Blaine murmured, his mind still unfocused.

Kurt lowered himself down to rest his head on Blaine’s chest, trailing his fingers up Blaine’s thigh, past his spent cock and up to his nipple, which he traced lightly with a fingertip. Blaine brought his arm down around Kurt’s shoulders, letting his fingers graze over his smooth skin.

“Tell me a fantasy,” Kurt whispered as he dropped a kiss on Blaine's salty skin.

“You're my fantasy, Kurt. Your lips on my skin, touching me everywhere… I only wish I could feel you everywhere at once.”

“What do you mean?”

“I imagine sometimes, what it would feel like, having your mouth on my cock, on my nipples... on my ass, all at the same time. It feels so good when your lips and your tongue are on me...I just...I want it...everywhere.”

“Mmm, you do always want more, want to be touched so many places at once… I wish I could give that to you.”

“You are amazing, Kurt. I don't ever want you to think you aren't enough for me. You take such good care of me, make me feel so good…”

“Hey, shhh, I know. I think the orgasm you just had proves it,” he said sassily, lifting his head to look Blaine in the eye. “Doesn't mean I don't wish I could give you your fantasy though…”

“If only you could clone yourself…” Blaine teased.

“Ha! There are times that would definitely come in handy, and not just in the bedroom. But what if…”

“What if what?” Blaine asked curiously.

“Well, what if it wasn't just me?” Kurt thought about their circle of friends. They shared sex pretty regularly, in various pairings. Blaine most often with Tina or with Mike, though he’d never been with them together. Kurt had fooled around once with Sam, but it hadn’t led anywhere. His attractions were a bit more monogamous than Blaine’s, but he never minded indulging Blaine’s need to play. They’d both been with Elliott, Kurt more frequently than Blaine. They even had a threesome once, and after they’d gotten over the initial awkwardness of it, it had been amazing.

Blaine apparently was remembering that night too. “You mean Elliott again?” he asked.

“Elliott, but not just… Mike. Tina. You’ve been with all of them before. What if…” Kurt was suddenly feeling a little shy, even though they were just talking in hypotheticals. “What if they all were here?”

“God Kurt… Do you mean like an orgy? I...I don’t know if I could...with everyone like that. But the idea of it…” His body shuddered involuntarily at the thought of so much pleasure.

“Not really though. It would just be for you, to make you feel good. I mean, I guess there’s no telling where things might lead, but in my head, everyone’s focus would be on you.” He didn't know if he could ever actually bring himself to suggest it to their friends, but for Blaine... There wasn't much he wouldn't do. 

Blaine’s spent cock pulsed where it rested under Kurt’s hand. “Mmm… I can see it turns you on,” Kurt said, giving it a tiny squeeze.

“I can see I’m not the only one,” Blaine said, pressing his thigh against Kurt’s hardening cock beside him.

Kurt pushed himself up and straddled Blaine, loosely gripping their cocks in one hand and stroking gently as he leaned over to trail kisses up Blaine’s jaw. “Round two?” he whispered in his ear.

 


	14. Perform

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kid!Klaine fluff. Generic enough to read on its own, but also follows "The Boy Next Door" which I will someday finish an actual sequel to...

“I can’t play this,” Kurt all but wailed, waving the sheet music around frantically. “Why did I ever even ask for piano lessons? This is impossible. There is no way I can get up on a stage and perform this in front of people.”

“Kurt, calm down,” Blaine said. “Let me see.”

He took the music from his friend’s hands and looked it over. It might be a little tricky for a beginner, which Kurt was, but he knew Kurt and he knew he could play it if he put his mind to it. Kurt was stubborn. There seemed to be very little he couldn’t do once he decided he was going to.

“There’s no reason you can’t play this,” he told Kurt. “I’ll help you learn it if you want.” Blaine had been playing piano since he was a little kid. Watching Blaine play so easily and so beautifully had been part of what inspired Kurt to want to learn himself.

“But I --”

“Kurt!” Blaine cut him off before he got himself all worked up again. “When is the recital?” he asked him calmly. 

“In May.”

“Then don’t panic. You have plenty of time to learn it.” Blaine set the music against the stand on the piano and sat down on the bench. “Come here,” he said, patting the bench next to him.

Kurt sighed and sat down, giving Blaine a skeptical look. 

“Do you want me to play it through for you, so you can hear how it sounds?”

“Ok.”

Blaine played the piece while Kurt listened and watched his fingers fly easily over the keys.

“How do you make that look so simple?” Kurt asked.

“I’ve been playing for half my life. I was playing things like this when I was in first grade. You shouldn’t let that make you feel bad though. You’re just starting. I practiced a ton to learn things like this back then, just like I practice a ton to learn harder things now. I make it look easy because I work hard at it.”

Kurt knew that. He knew how many hours Blaine spent practicing, at both piano and violin. He doubted whether he himself had that kind of discipline. But if Blaine was playing this at six, he figured he could do it at 12. “Ok. You’re right. I just got overwhelmed. Will you really help me learn it?”

“Of course I will. Do you want to start now?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. Then I can practice more by myself later.”

Blaine helped Kurt practice that afternoon, and whenever he got stuck on a particularly tricky section as he slowly but surely progressed through the song. When the recital came, Blaine sat beside Burt in the audience, and clapped extra hard when Kurt finished and stood to take his bow. 


	15. Raw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit of post-canon fluff.

The first burst of cold air had felt good against Blaine’s overheated skin as he left the building. He’d just come from his last class of the day and his dance instructor had pushed them hard. Muscles ached that he wasn’t even sure he knew existed before the class had started. He sent Kurt a quick text to let him know he was on his way home, then pocketed his phone and began the walk back to their apartment.

The refreshing chill quickly turned bitter as Blaine walked. It was a raw winter evening, the temperature hovering around freezing. The snow that had been falling when Blaine set out had switched over to something resembling droplets of slushie that pelted him whenever he emerged from underneath the awnings he tried to stay under to keep dry. Blaine cursed himself for not checking the forecast and bringing an umbrella.

By the time he got home, he was chilled through and miserable. He dropped his bag next to the door, kicked off his damp shoes, and hung his coat on a hook to dry. “Kurt, are you here?” he called out. The lights were on, but he didn’t see his husband anywhere.

“Right here,” Kurt said, poking his head out from the doorway of the bathroom.

Blaine rubbed his hands together trying to warm up as he crossed the room to greet him.

“Hi,” he said, leaning in for a quick kiss. “Please say there’s hot cocoa in the house. I need to thaw out.”

“There might be, but I can do better I think.” He stepped out of the way and nodded towards the bathtub which was full and brimming with bubbles.

“Kurt… how did you…?”

“I knew you were on your way, and I knew it was miserable outside, and I may have happened to notice your umbrella still in the stand by the door, so I figured you’d be chilled when you got here. And I know how exhausted you usually are after dance anyway.”

Blaine hugged him. “You are the sweetest. That tub looks divine. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Though it wasn’t entirely selfless. I was thinking I might join you?”

“Will you rub my shoulders?”

“Of course.”

“Then by all means,” Blaine gestured towards the tub with a smile. “I can’t think of a better way to start our evening.”


	16. Stir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Falling behind... (totally singing that in my head to the tune of "falling in love" in Foolish Thing...)
> 
> Post-canon, pre-baby

 

Kurt and Blaine were enjoying a lazy Monday morning at home, putting off the inevitable chores and errands that needed to be done and lingering over their coffee, Blaine on the couch with a book propped up on his knees and Kurt tucked on the window seat sketching.

Blaine’s phone buzzed on the coffee table and he reached for it, opening a text from Cooper:

   _Have you checked your Twitter lately? You should check your Twitter_.

Puzzled, Blaine swiped over to the app and opened it. His notifications were marked 20+, but that was nothing unusual. He tried to post things for his Broadway fans every few days, and that always generated likes and comments. But this time as he scrolled through his mentions there were definitely more than usual. Some were directed solely at him, others included Kurt, and all seemed to include some form of the word “congratulations.” As he continued scanning the messages the words “you’ll be great dads” suddenly jumped out at him. But only their close friends knew that Rachel was carrying their baby. They hadn’t announced anything publicly yet.

“Hey, Kurt, you should come see this,” he said.

Kurt looked up curiously then moved to sit beside Blaine, who passed him his phone.

“But how…?” Kurt said as he took in what was happening.

“I have no i…” But Blaine interrupted himself mid-word as he noticed the headline on the link attached to one of the messages. “Well, that explains it. Here, look.” He tapped at it and a blog post popped up:

 

> Broadway Baby Bump!
> 
> Rumors have been rampant for months speculating that Broadway’s darling Rachel Berry ( _Funny Girl, Jane Austen Sings_ ) and her actor/director hubby Jesse St. James are expecting their first baby. Turns out Rachel _is_ expecting, but not with Jesse! Sources confirm that Rachel is carrying the baby for fellow Broadway favorites (and her former high school classmates) Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson (both currently starring in _Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?_ ). Congratulations to the dads-to-be!

Kurt scrolled down to the comments underneath, which were filled with even more excitement and congratulatory messages.

“Wow. Who knew this would cause such a stir? And who are these ‘sources’?” Kurt wondered. “People seem to be happy for us, but I’m not sure I like being outed like that.”

“I don’t mind that people know, but yeah, it would have been nice to have been the ones to announce it,” Blaine said. He searched his memory trying to recall if they’d mentioned it to anyone who might have had reason to leak the news.

“I wonder if…” they looked at each other knowingly. “Rachel,” they said aloud together. She had always been one to create buzz for herself.

Kurt picked up his own phone and quickly dialed, leaving it on speaker so Blaine could hear. He used his sweetest tone when she answered.

“Rachel, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about the Broadway blogs picking up the news that you’re carrying our baby, would you?”

“What?! No, of course I - “ Rachel started to protest, but was interrupted by Kurt’s admonishing voice.

“Rachel…”

“Ok, fine, I did it. I’m sorry, I should have asked you guys first. I hope you don’t hate me. Tony nominations are due soon and I thought it couldn’t hurt for people to know what a selfless thing I’m doing. Plus people really have been starting to guess and I felt bad for Jesse, because of course people would assume the baby is ours.”

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other and shook their heads. They wanted to be mad, but they’d been friends with Rachel for too long for this to faze them much. Yes, she’d stolen their thunder, but that was really nothing new either.

“It’s ok, Rach,” Blaine said. “But maybe let us put out our response first before you address it, ok?”

“Of course, whatever you want. I won’t say anything until you do.”

“Thank you. We’ll call you later,” Kurt said, ending the call. Then he turned to Blaine. “Well, I guess we have an announcement to make, how should we do this?”

They debated their options and decided to keep it simple. Kurt went to grab a tiny onesie from the stash of baby items they’d been slowly accumulating. On its front were the words “My daddies love me” enclosed in a rainbow heart. He and Blaine leaned in close together, the onesie draped over their shoulders where they touched, and Kurt snapped a selfie of the two of them smiling broadly. Together they composed a caption and together they each posted the photo to their own Twitter accounts:

  It’s true! We’re expecting an addition to our family and couldn’t be happier! Thank you all for your congratulations and well-wishes!

Then they wisely turned off their notifications and went back to savoring their lazy day.  


	17. Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set in canon, the summer Blaine moves to NY

If it had been up to Blaine, he would have moved to New York as soon as possible after graduation. It wasn’t up to Blaine. His parents insisted that since it was likely the last summer he’d spend with them, they wanted him to do just that. So after graduation, Kurt once again went back to New York without him. Blaine clung to him when they said goodbye. 

“I wish I were going with you now.”

“I do too, but we’ve lasted this long. We can do a few more weeks,” Kurt said, holding him snugly and stroking his back in reassurance.

They parted, and they texted, and they Skyped, and soon enough, because Blaine had convinced his parents that he really could use a couple of weeks to settle in to his new home before classes started, Blaine packed his things and made the move he’d been longing for since the previous fall.

Kurt met him at the airport, and as Blaine fell into his arms, he knew he was home. 

Blaine hadn’t brought all that much with him from Ohio. Kurt and Rachel had the loft well established and there wasn’t much he needed beyond his clothes and some books and sheet music for school. Kurt was helping him unpack his suitcases and find space in his - their - bedroom for his wardrobe. No easy task when Kurt’s already took up most of the available drawers and hanging space.

Kurt placed some sweaters into a drawer and returned to the suitcase that sat open on the bed. He pulled out a slim box and opened it to reveal several bow ties. 

“More bow ties, Blaine?” Kurt said. “Didn’t I already hang a dozen of them? Just how many bow ties does one person need?”

“You love my bow ties,” Blaine retorted. “Besides, you’re one to talk! Do you really want to bring up owning excessive quantities of neckwear? Because I think you just might win that particular competition…”

“Ok, ok, point taken,” Kurt said, setting the box back down and stepping towards Blaine where he was hanging a colorful array of pants on their clothing rack. “We’ll make it all fit somehow. I’m just glad you’re here.” As Blaine turned back around, Kurt grabbed him by the waist and pulled him in for a kiss to show him just how glad he was to have him, bow ties and all, with him at last.


	18. Underline

Blaine walked into the apartment, which was dark save for one small lamp on a side table in the living room that bathed a flat box in a pool of dim yellow light. On top of it was propped a red envelope with Blaine’s name written in Kurt’s neat script, the single underline beneath it somehow elegant even in its simplicity. He opened it and pulled out the note inside:

_ Wear this. Be ready at 7. _

_ Love, Kurt _

Blaine wondered what could be in the box. His mind raced with possibilities. Would they be staying in? Going out? He lifted the lid to reveal an elegant navy dinner jacket and a coordinating bow tie, clearly sewn by Kurt’s own hand. Blaine ran his hand reverently over the fabric, appreciating the care and thought and love Kurt had put into the gift.

He lifted the jacket out of the box and hung it while he went to take a shower. Afterwards he wrapped the towel around his waist and took extra care with his grooming routine, wanting to look perfect for his husband. When he finished he returned to their bedroom to dress. He savored the feeling of the smooth fabric of the bow tie beneath his fingers as he tied it carefully around his neck. As he slid on the jacket he could almost feel Kurt’s embrace. It fit him perfectly. He went to his nightstand, opened the drawer, and reached inside for the small box that held his own gift for Kurt, which he slipped into his pocket for later. Checking his watch, he realized he still had 15 minutes before Kurt had said he needed to be ready, so he went to the living room to wait. 

At 7 o’clock precisely, there was a knock on the apartment door. Blaine smiled as he got up to answer it. Kurt obviously could have just come in, but Blaine loved that he seemed to be making this a formal date. 

Kurt’s face lit up when he saw Blaine in the jacket. “It fits,” he said, brushing his hand over Blaine’s shoulder and running a finger down his lapel.

“Was there a doubt?” Blaine said. “You know every inch of me.” He leaned up to give Kurt a proper kiss. “Thank you. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to have a husband who will custom-make clothes just for me, but I love it, and I love you.”

Kurt blushed at the praise. “I’m glad you like it. You look stunning. But that’s only the first part of your gift. Come on, get your coat or we’ll be late.”

Blaine raised his eyebrows in question, but Kurt was not forthcoming. “You’ll see,” was all he said in response. So Blaine patted his pocket to make sure he still had Kurt’s gift, put on his overcoat and walked out into the cold February night on Kurt’s arm, letting him lead the way to wherever it was they were going. 

They emerged from the subway at Bryant Park, walking past the ice rink where they’d skated so tentatively back into each other’s hearts years before. Kurt led them around the corner and down the street, reaching into his breast pocket as they approached the theater. He pulled out two tickets and passed one to Blaine as they joined the line under the marquee for  _ Beautiful: The Carole King Musical _ . “Happy Valentine’s Day, Blaine. I hope you like it.”

“I can’t think of a better gift than a Broadway show, except maybe a Kurt Hummel original design,” he winked with a smile, “or a better person to share it with.”

They both enjoyed the show, and afterwards over dinner, Blaine gave Kurt his gift, an antique brooch with a delicate gold bird at its center. Kurt pinned it to his lapel right away. 

“This has been an amazing night,” Blaine said as they walked home later hand in hand. “I think I like being married to my valentine.”

“Yeah, it’s not bad, is it?” Kurt said, bumping his shoulder against Blaine’s. 

“I do think there’s one more thing that would make the night even more perfect though…”

“Oh?”

“Mmhmm… We need to get home first though,” Blaine replied.

When they arrived back at their apartment they quickly hung up their coats and Kurt stepped in close to Blaine.

“Can I help you out of these?” he asked, his voice low and suggestive as he fingered Blaine’s tie and jacket once more.

“Please…” Blaine whispered, and Kurt’s deft fingers were already untying the bow and sliding the tie out from under his collar, his lips finding Blaine’s as he began to work open his buttons. Blaine slipped out of the jacket, draping it carefully over the back of the couch as Kurt guided him backwards towards their bedroom, where they tumbled onto their bed for one final celebration of their first Valentine’s Day as husbands.


	19. Variation

Kurt stood in the room that would become the nursery, a swath of paint chips fanned out in his hand, each one only the slightest variation of the last. He looked over and over again from the chips to the wall as if somehow the right color would jump out at him if only he looked enough times. Frustrated, he gave up and walked out to the living room where Blaine was on his laptop researching cribs. He tossed the paint samples onto the coffee table and flopped down next to Blaine on the couch.

“This is impossible. I can’t choose.”

“Kurt, they’re all pretty. Any of them would be fine,” Blaine said.

“I don’t want it to be ‘fine,’ Blaine. It has to be perfect!”

Blaine knew he needed to tread lightly. He put his laptop aside and sat up to grab Kurt’s hands.

“And it will be. It will be perfect because no matter what color you pick, YOU will paint it with love for our baby. She won’t care if it’s Meadow, or Moss, or Spring, or Leaf…”

Kurt pinched at the bridge of his nose. “But I care,” he said in exasperation.

“Ok, come on,” Blaine said, tugging Kurt up off the couch. “Let’s just leave these samples here for a while then and go for a walk. Some fresh air will clear your head. Maybe when we get back, it will come to you.”

Kurt looked at him skeptically, but didn’t have it in him to argue. It was a beautiful spring day, and regardless it would be nice to get outside for a bit.

They strolled the neighborhood quietly, hand in hand. Blaine steered them towards one of their favorite cafes where they got their drinks to go and headed back out into the sunshine and down the block to a small park. “Let’s sit,” Blaine suggested when he spotted an empty bench. For a moment they just sipped their coffee and watched the people around them, joggers hurrying past, teenagers with their friends, parents pushing strollers…

“It’s going to be ok, you know,” Blaine said out of nowhere. “She’ll get here, and we’ll bring her home and love her and care for her and make mistakes, and no matter what she’s going to be perfect. Because she’s ours.”

“I just… what if we aren’t ready? What if this was all a terrible, terrible idea? What on earth makes us qualified to be parents, Blaine? We know nothing about babies.”

“We’re learning. We’ll learn more. No one is ever really ready. We thought this all through. You know we wouldn’t even be at this point if we didn’t. It’s not like we got pregnant by accident.”

“I know,” Kurt said. “It’s just, the closer it gets, the more scared I get. What if I’m not a good dad?”

“Impossible,” Blaine told him. “You have the world’s best father as a role model. Some of that has to have rubbed off.”

Kurt let out a reluctant laugh.

“I’m serious,” Blaine said with a smile. “I for one fully plan on making ‘What Would Burt Do?’ my parenting mantra.”

Kurt’s face brightened into a genuine smile at that. His husband was ridiculous, but in truth as far as parenting philosophies went, it wasn’t half bad. His dad did always seem to know the right thing to do.

“We’re not doing this alone, you know,” Blaine continued, reaching for Kurt’s hand. “We have our friends and family even if they’re not right here. There’s this fancy new invention called the phone. You can talk to your dad and Carole any time you need to.”

“Oh, shut up!” Kurt said with a laugh, giving Blaine a playful shove as repayment for his sarcasm. “And I know, you’re right,” he admitted. “I just get overwhelmed by it all sometimes. Thanks for making me feel better.”

“Just doing my job,” Blaine said.

They chatted idly as they finished their coffee, and when they got up to leave Kurt had an idea.

“Let’s stop at hardware store on the way home. I want to get the paint.”

“But you don’t have your swatches.”

“That’s ok,” Kurt said. “I don’t need them.”

Blaine looked at him quizzically. He’d been obsessing over them just an hour ago. “Really?”

“I’ll go with my gut when we get there. It’s what Burt would do.”    


	20. Width

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set in canon, as the boys prepare to move back to New York

“That’s great news! I’m proud of you, son,” Burt said over dinner when he learned that Blaine had been accepted at NYU. Blaine beamed at the praise and at the endearment. He was proud of himself too, but hearing it from Burt warmed his heart in a special way. For so long he’d been convinced that this family was lost to him, and now he was married to Kurt, and Kurt’s family was officially his family too. 

“So,” Burt continued, “you boys gonna head out to New York soon and find a new place to stay? January’ll be here before you know it.”

“We’ve already started looking online,” Blaine said. “We really should set up some appointments though. Maybe next week, Kurt?”

“Yeah, that should work. I’ll call Elliott and see if he’ll let us crash at his place for a couple of nights. Otherwise we can find a hotel.”

And so the following week they found themselves trailing a rental agent up to the third floor of an older building that was convenient to both NYU and NYADA. They’d seen a dozen apartments over the past two days. They knew enough to realize that they were unlikely to tick off all of their wishlist items and stay within their budget, but so far even the places that met all of their “must have” requirements on paper failed to live up to their expectations in person. 

The apartment they walked into was tiny, but clean and bright. Light streamed in through a large window. A breakfast bar separated the narrow kitchen from the living/dining space. The bathroom was functional, if not particularly inviting. The first bedroom was hardly big enough to warrant the name, and the master bedroom wasn’t much bigger. They’d be able to fit their bed, nightstands, and not much more. But as Kurt walked into the room, a series of doors along one wall caught his eye. He opened them, revealing closets that ran the entire width of the room. Not only that, they were fitted with organizers - not the god awful wire contraptions that were hell on folded clothing, but honest to goodness solid shelves, drawers and hanging rods.

Blaine took one look at Kurt admiring those closets and knew that they were home. 


	21. Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Canon Klaine getting ready to celebrate their one year anniversary

“Would you have believed a year ago that we’d be here right now?” Blaine asked.

“Back in Lima? Again? Nope,” Kurt deadpanned.

Blaine rolled his eyes at his husband. “Not here,” he waved his hand around, knowing full well that Kurt was being deliberately obtuse. “Here,” he said, gesturing between them. “Together. Married. Getting ready to renew our vows. In Ohio. Because it’s legal here now.”

“Oh. That.” 

“Yes, that.”

“Well, considering the only reason I came back here then was for you, I hoped we’d be together…” 

Blaine shot him a look that very clearly read “Oh, then what about Walter?”

“Ok, fine, I was deluding myself into thinking dating a man my father’s age was a good idea. Happy? It was always you, Blaine. You know that.”

Blaine couldn’t help indulging in a little self-satisfied smile.

“But to answer your other questions, no, I don’t think I would have believed that we’d be married already, let alone for a year, or that our marriage would be legal in all fifty states.”

“Would you change it? Do you ever wish we’d waited?”

“Not for a second. We may have been ambushed, but that did save us the stress of wedding planning, which clearly didn’t go so well the first time.” It was a tender topic, but one they were able to talk about honestly now, with the help of the counselor they’d been seeing in New York. “And we both knew, deep down, that we wouldn’t have taken the risk of even getting back together if we weren’t completely committed to making it work. Permanently. So why wait? It’s like  _ When Harry Met Sally _ . ‘When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.’”

“I thought you were Meg Ryan in this whole scenario. Shouldn’t that be my line?” Blaine teased.

“Just drive, Billy,” Kurt teased back. “We’re almost to my dad’s. And tomorrow we get to marry each other all over again. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the year.”


	22. Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This last one gave me such a hard time! I'm glad to have finished it before 2018! 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's been reading, commenting and leaving kudos all month. Special shout out to NikiJuly17th who has commented on almost every chapter. It's always nice to feel like things aren't just going out there into the void!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this last bit, a glimpse at their first wedding anniversary as dads.

Blaine had just gotten Ella up from her afternoon nap when there was a knock at the apartment door.

“Were you expecting anyone?” he asked as Kurt moved to answer it. 

“Nope. You?”

“No.” He crossed to the kitchen with Ella in one arm and started to fix her a bottle.

Kurt opened the door to Tina’s bright smile. “Kurt, hi!” she said as she pulled him into a hug. 

“Oh! Hi,” he said, hesitating for a second in surprise before hugging her back. “Um, did we have plans, or…?” 

“What I can’t just drop by to see two of my oldest friends and their adorable daughter?” she said, walking inside and giving Blaine a peck on the cheek before cooing at Ella. 

“Of course you can,” Blaine answered. “We just weren’t expecting anyone. Sorry for the mess,” he said, nodding towards the half folded pile of laundry and the baby toys scattered on the living room floor as he settled on the couch to feed Ella.

“Please. It’s not like I’ve never seen laundry before. And actually, that’s part of why I’m here. Well, not the laundry, I just… Well, here,” she said reaching into her bag and pulling out an envelope, which she handed to Kurt, since Blaine’s hands were full.

“Okaaaay…” Kurt said as he took it from her. “What’s this?”

“Just open it,” she said.

Kurt did, and pulled out a smaller envelope with what looked like a key card inside.

“What is it?” Blaine asked.

“It’s the key to a completely baby-free zone. With room service. Happy Anniversary!”

“So it’s...a hotel room? Are we supposed to just… Now?” Kurt was still confused.

“Yes!” Tina exclaimed. 

“But Ella…” Blaine said.

“Will be perfectly fine here with her Auntie Tina,” she interrupted before he could even finish his thought. 

“You’re staying?”

“Of course I’m staying! Someone has to watch Ella!”

“But…” Blaine was still having trouble taking in exactly what was happening.

“No buts. You’re exhausted. You need a break. It’s your anniversary. This is your gift. Finish feeding Ella, and then go pack an overnight bag and go.” 

“It’s not our anniversary yet...”

“Stop being so literal. Ok fine, no,  _ today _ isn’t your exact anniversary, but it’s a night I knew you were both free and it’s close enough. And I know you guys don’t get enough time together, just the two of you, or enough sleep, with this little one around. You deserve a night off. So I’m giving you one.”

Blaine looked at Kurt, silently telegraphing “Can we actually do this?” 

Kurt gave the barest of shrugs in return. This had come at them so out of the blue he was having trouble wrapping his head around the idea.

“Tina, we can’t just leave our baby,” he said.

“It’s not like you’re abandoning her, Kurt,” she said, reaching over to take Ella from Blaine now that she was done eating. “I’m a perfectly competent babysitter. You’ve left her with me before as I recall and everything turned out fine. I promise I won’t let her get any tattoos, isn’t that right Ella?” she said, coaxing the baby to smile at her.

Blaine looked at Kurt much as he had on their wedding day, his expression conveying that this might be crazy, but he couldn’t think of any truly good reason not to do it. “What do you think?” he said. “A break  _ would _ be nice…” He had been the one staying home with Ella since she was born, and as much as he loved her, an entire baby-free night sounded pretty incredible. 

Kurt looked between Blaine and Tina, Ella on her lap happily gurgling as Tina tickled her belly. 

“Ok, let’s do it,” he agreed. 

“Yay!” Tina said, clapping Ella’s tiny hands together. “We’re going to have so much fun, aren’t we, Ella-Bella? And I hope you two have fun too,” she said knowingly, looking between Blaine and Kurt. 

“Tina!”

“Oh, come on… I’ve known you long enough to know what happens when you get a little bit of privacy. Being dads can’t have changed you  _ that _ much. If anything I’d think...”

“Ok!” Kurt said loudly, cutting her off before she could continue that thought. He really didn’t need to hear Tina talking about their sex life. “Come on, Blaine. Let’s go pack before Ella starts getting fussy and Tina changes her mind.”

“Not happening. She’s stuck with me,” Tina said.

“Thank you, T,” Blaine said, leaning over to hug her as he got up to join Kurt. “This is really sweet of you.”

“Don’t mention it,” she said. “You can owe me a night someday.”

“Oh? Something you want to tell us?” Blaine said, quirking an eyebrow.

“What? No!” she said, swatting at him as he ducked out of reach. 

“Just saying… Ella could use a playmate,” he called over his shoulder as he walked to the bedroom.

Tina just rolled her eyes. “Your dads are lucky I love them so much,” she said to Ella, “and that you’re so cute.”

Less than an hour later, Kurt and Blaine stepped into their hotel room, leaving their bag on top of the dresser and walking to the window to inspect the view, which wasn’t much. “Well, husband,” Kurt said, “what should we do first?”

Blaine turned and reached out to stroke his cheek. “Oh, I think I know exactly what I want to do first,” he said, pulling Kurt towards the bed.

“Sleep?” Kurt laughed.

“Absolutely. And then,” he said, pulling Kurt close as they snuggled down into the pillows, “I intend to make the most of the fact that we don’t have to rush, or be quiet, or get dressed afterwards…”

“Sounds decadent…”

“We’ll have to be sure to thank Tina properly. But first, nap…” Blaine said sleepily.

Kurt smiled at his husband. He was never much good at napping himself, but he’d be quite content to watch Blaine as he slept. “Happy anniversary…” he whispered.

“Mmm...happy anniversary…”


End file.
